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It was the everyday, vibrant diversity that brought photographer Narisa Ladak (@nooristan) to Harlem, New York. “There’s so much to learn just by eating at restaurants and listening to music,” says Narisa. “It’s cultivated here. You can learn by walking down the street and paying attention.” Narisa self-identifies as South Asian, but her background extends globally: She was born in Canada, her parents in Tanzania and her grandfather in India. Her own family’s diversity helped to draw her lens toward minorities and immigrants — “people in between, like me” — when her previous work in marketing took her to live in Kabul, Afghanistan. “In taking a picture of someone, they’re trusting you, and you’re building a relationship with them,” she says. “I believe in the power of human connection.” Narisa now lives Harlem, and brings that to life in a recent photography project where she documents Congolese musicians in her neighborhood: “There’s something about live music that brings people together. It has a universal nature no matter what language you speak.”
Watch our Instagram story to see more of Narisa’s project.
This post is in celebration of Women’s History Month. Throughout March, we’ll be highlighting the stories of women doing extraordinary things around the world.
Photo by @nooristan #Regram http://vnat.ca/1pSvANW